Staying Healthy While Traveling for Work
Health Tips for the Frequent Traveler: Maintaining Your Routine on the Road
I want to say that these travel tips, while they can be used for general travel; they are mainly geared towards people who travel for work and aren’t necessarily travelling for fun. If you are travelling out of the country or to a new province or state, usually, some part of the trip will revolve around food, WHICH IS FINE, enjoy your trip. This may be a once in a lifetime trip and if you want to eat pasta in Italy, eat the pasta. Now, if you are constantly travelling for work and you are starting to feel the effects of constantly sitting, eating out and maybe not sleeping as well, then you may have to be a bit more cautious of your choices during your trips, as opposed to someone who is going on a yearly vacation.
Plan ahead – Whether you decide to meal prep or you know that you will be eating out for some meals, plan ahead. If you already meal prep, your travel week does not have to look much different. Most of the time, you can book a hotel that has a fridge and a microwave. I would recommend getting some sort of food prep bag, whether it’s a backpack, over the shoulder bag or cooler to transport your food. I personally use the 6 Pack Fitness Bag, but I think I would prefer a backpack cooler bag because I usually have way too much stuff to take into a hotel and I look ridiculous trying to carry all of it in. If you are tracking your food and you meal prep, basically nothing has to change. If you are eating out for your meals, try to pick restaurants in advance and plan your meal choices, focus on lean protein and lots of veg. Most of the time, I travel by car, which makes it easier to pack food. However, I have had a few trips where I have had to fly so I ended up packing my cooler bag in my suitcase and simply freezing my meals beforehand to ensure they stayed cold.
DRINK WATER – When travelling, it is super easy to forget to drink water or not want to drink a lot because you don’t want to have to pee every 2 minutes or you are downing cup after cup of coffee… (I’m not guilty of any of these… ;) ). Regardless, it is so important to stay well hydrated; especially because you may be moving a lot less than usual and stress may be heightened. Drinking more water can help with your digestion by keeping everything moving through your intestines and absorbing more nutrients. I usually try and keep a 2L water bottle with me so that before leaving for my trip, I fill it up and then have a goal to drink it by the time I reach my destination. Pee breaks are also great because they get you standing up and moving!
Go on walks – This has been the most helpful tip for myself when I have to travel for work. I find that travelling is mentally exhausting, either driving to the destination, having meetings all day, meeting new people, whatever it is, I am usually exhausted by the end of the day and just want to curl up in the bed and watch TV all night. Which, if you need to do that, go and do it! This may be the only “you time” or downtime you get in the week. However, I find that as soon as I get to the hotel room, if I put on my running shoes and immediately go outside for a walk, I feel so much better. I can decompress after my day and the fresh air is so rejuvenating. Walks are also a great way to explore whatever place you are in! I’ve found some super cool boardwalks, trails and areas just from walking around and exploring. If the weather is bad or you don’t feel comfortable walking around by yourself outside, I recommend going and walking on a treadmill. Chances are, you were just going to watch TV so you may as well step on a treadmill and watch a show on your phone. Once again, if you just aren’t feeling like doing anything, make sure you listen to your body, but I can almost guarantee that this will make you feel better and sleep better.
Travelling for work can be really fun at first, but gets old fast. If you find that you are constantly travelling and you are getting sick of feeling like crap because you aren’t working out, don’t have a routine, are eating out for every meal and not sleeping, try some of these tips out. You are never going to find a “perfect” time to make a change so might as well implement small changes that are easy for you to achieve and will make you feel better throughout the week.